The smoky air that filled Doublet’s vast show space this afternoon gave a hint as to what this collection would be about. Simply titled “Air” it was Masayuki Ino’s way of riffing on the invisible thing that surrounds us all, but is rarely considered. Many pieces were made from a yarn derived from CO2—a collection literally summoned from thin air. “We can’t see air, right? In the same way, I believe the effort and time spent by developers of fabrics like this are invisible,” said Ino backstage. “But this collection is possible only because of the people that invented it, and so my goal was to express that.” The fabric proved unruly to work with, but Ino managed to wrangle it with his typical verve and panache into a collection of edgy tailoring and warped streetwear.
The smoke obscured some of the finer and funnier details, which were characteristically off-the-wall. One knit depicted a smoke-billowing factory, whose pollution was pumped over the arms in clouds of fake fur. There was a bag in the shape of a gas mask, smog-stained skirts, and balloon animals reimagined into squishy-looking scarves. Harry Potter’s inflatable evil aunt Marge Dursley even got a shout out on a T-shirt. A red tracksuit had been inspired by Michael Jordan, said Ino, and featured outlines of basketball sneakers. “Like Air Jordans!” Get it? The best-executed look was a suit that had clearly been through a rather blustery day, covered as it was with embroidery of autumn leaves, sheets of newspaper and a perpetually sideways necktie.
The joy of a Doublet show is that Ino is able to tell a joke with almost every look he puts down the runway. It is ever-gimmicky, but done with enough design nous that it never feels like an empty gimmick. When asked how he is able to take seemingly serious topics and find the humor in them, Ino cited Kōtarō Isaka, one of his favorite authors. “There’s a line in one of his books that says truly serious things should be conveyed in a cheerful manner,” said Ino. “I really like that idea. Otherwise, because it’s a serious matter, it would feel too heavy. A happier approach leaves a more lasting impression.”
